Case Studies

Photo Service Team - Art Basel | EIZO

For 4 days each summer Basel, Switzerland becomes all about art.

Art Basel offers 20th and 21st century art and is indisputably considered to be the world’s most important trade fair for the international art market. Over 280 carefully selected exhibitors of the most important galleries from 33 countries turn the trade fair into the most important temporary museum. Artists, art collectors, and many VIPs from the art and culture scenes from all over the world meet during these days in Basel. The art trade fair has been taking place since the year 1970. It currently boasts an impressive 37,000 visitors.

In addition to the photo documentations for the trade fair management, individual artworks are photographed for the gallery owners.

The photo service team (Andreas Zimmermann, Dirk Wetzel and Peter Hauck) is always anxious to show these valuable artworks in the right light for gallery owners and for the exhibition archives. For around three years, the trio of photographers has been relying on EIZO ColorEdge monitors. Colorfast images of these sometimes very photographically sophisticated artworks are a must – for gallery owners as well as for the archive.

We have been keeping a close eye on three “picture makers” as it were and asked them about themselves as well as about their work.

Andreas Zimmermann

Andreas Zimmermann, who are the individuals who make up the photo service team at Art Basel and how long have they been working?

The photo service team is composed of the photographers Peter Hauck, Andreas Zimmermann and Dirk Wetzel. Sandra Amport takes care of the coordination of the orders and the communication. In this team we have now been working already since the year 2013 for Art Basel.

Why did you become a photographer?

For me, it was already clear from a very young age that I would like to move professionally in the artistic-creative area. Photography began to fascinate me especially in the foundation training of the Lucerne School of Design.

What inspires you?

Mostly the moment and the unforeseeable.

What awards are you particularly proud of?

I was one of the nominees in the “Advertising” category of the Swiss Photo Awards 2010.

Tell us one thing that would have helped you very much if you had known that already at the beginning of your career?

A difficult question – on the contrary, it was good that I did not already know certain things, which brings with it independence.

To what extent is colour management important for your work?

Colour management is very important for my work and my digital workflow. It is especially important in all orders during Art Basel, since a very high degree of professionalism and concordance in colour as well as contrast is expected.

Why have you opted for an EIZO monitor?

EIZO for me is the measure of all things in this area. For me as a professional the RAW image conversion besides the photograph are of great importance. The EIZO monitor forms so-to-speak the bridge between the “latent” RAW file and the digital-visible final image.

What do you like particularly about the EIZO monitor? To what extent is it important for your work?

I don’t want to have to do without the hardware-calibrated monitors any longer. The concordance in colour, the large coverage of the colour space and the stable image brightness among other things further characterise the monitors.

Peter Hauck

Actually I wanted to be a cameraman, but I had to learn the photography profession for this. I am currently teaching myself to be a cameraman.

What area are you working in and why?

I am employed in event photography quite a lot; I like working with people. The next highlight is the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament. There I photograph for the event organiser. Reportage and architecture photography are also part of this.
Recently, my scope of duties has also begun to include time-lapse films.

Is a special kind of equipment required for this kind of photography?

I am also equipped with Nikon and thus well-positioned.

Which of your works is your favourite and why?

The studio works on a small collection of antique animal miniatures. I firstly had to develop the set and the settings and test out everything.

Are there highpoints / challenges worthy of mention in your career?

The 6 week time as assistant in a production in Cairo for an exhibition catalogue on the Treasures of Tutankhamun, which were then being exhibited in Basel.

To what extent is colour management important for your work?

The exact presentation of the image. I have been working with it for several years already and possess a total of 3 EIZO monitors.

What is your motto?

To see clearly a change of direction of the viewing direction is often sufficient.

What advice would you give to a photographer who is at the beginning of their career?

Look around in several studios. Right at the beginning as far as possible get high quality equipment. Have a lot of exchange with other photographers. Pursue projects purposefully.

Dirk Wetzel

Dirk Wetzel, who are the individuals who make up the photo service team at Art Basel and since when has the team been active?

After the first floor level documentation in 2011 I got to know Andreas Zimmermann at work rather by chance. He documented floor level 2.1; I documented floor level 2.0.
Up until the year 2013, [we were] the foundation of the team of photographers of Art Basel, however we lost contact with one another again. To everybody’s surprise then, after an application process by Art, we were all “thrown together” in one team. Peter Hauck was also added to this team.
Since then the team of photographers has taken over the floor level documentation and supervises the inquiries of the galleries in the area of installation and reproduction photography.

What area do you work in and why?

The Art Basel weeks with their preliminary and follow-up are of course the absolute highlight of the year. In my orders for the press I photograph in many areas daily. These include orders in architecture and communication.

Is special equipment required for this kind of photography?

A sound “workflow” is surely the most important tool of the trade for each photographer. Also from the key component, the camera, through the image editing programmes to the screen.

What inspires you?

Journeys and people in other cultures. The long-term reportages for various NGO and charity organisations in Vietnam, Burma and the Philippines are still highlights in my portfolio.

Are there highpoints / challenges worthy of mention in your career?

My first exhibition “About Winning And Losing” about MMA and cage fights.

Tell us about one thing that would have helped you very much if you had known about it at the beginning of your career?

It is not only important what you know but who you know.

Why have you opted for an EIZO monitor?

In Art 2014 we were equipped with EIZO monitors for the first time. That showed me the clear weaknesses of my old monitor. Since then I have also been using EIZO monitors.

What advice would you give to a photographer who is at the beginning of their career?

A sound training is the tools of the trade for a creative implementation of projects.